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Earthwatch volunteers at the South Shields Roman Fort have helped in mapping more than 1,000 square yards of pre-Roman and Roman settlements and excavating jewelry, armor, and ceramics.

Two millennia ago, the Roman Empire stretched all the way to northern England, which the Romans considered the very edge of civilization. Arbeia, the Roman fort overlooking the River Tyne and its harbor, was one of the largest and busiest supply depots in the northern Roman Empire. Hadrian’s Wall, just four miles (6.4 kilometers) from Arbeia, marks the boundary of the Empire. Beyond the wall lived the region’s native inhabitants, the Brigantes and the Picts. How did these cultures adapt to each other and coexist?

As a volunteer member of the archaeological team, you’ll help a seasoned team of researchers to excavate Arbeia and its environs to better understand how the Romans and the inhabitants of northern Britain came into contact with each other—and were forever changed by the experience. You’ll work in small groups, rotating among many tasks, including excavation using a trowel or more robust digging equipment, recording site data, site surveying, and sampling, cleaning, and processing finds.

When you're not digging into the past, you can spend your recreational time along Hadrian's Wall or enjoying local culture in South Shields or in the historic cities of Newcastle, York, Durham, and Edinburgh just a few hours’ travel from the field site. Most teams will stay in a cozy local guesthouse, while those who join the six-day team will arrange their own accommodations and can choose from any of South Shields’ many lodging options.

Lead scientists

Accommodations and food

Why the research is important

Why the research is important

Through our research, we aim to provide a more complete picture that can inform future plans for the management and conservation of the site.

After more than 10 years of excavation, Earthwatchers continue to discover new artifacts at the Arbeia dig.

Arbeia was a Roman military and civilian settlement and port of supply, situated on a flat-topped hill with a view of the mouth of the River Tyne. The fort became part of the frontier defense system begun in A.D. 122 by the Emperor Hadrian, whose famous wall starts only four miles (6.4 kilometers) west of South Shields and runs across the island of Great Britain.

New discoveries are constantly being made at the site; we are producing a more detailed picture of the inside of a Roman military base of the first to the fourth centuries than has ever been drawn before. Through our research, we aim to provide a more complete picture that can inform future plans for the management and conservation of the site.

Earthwatch teams have greatly advanced knowledge of the civilian area of the site. Life here was thought to have come to a sudden end around A.D. 260, when trade networks across the empire were disrupted during a period of military crisis and barbarian invasion. The new excavation area, however, is producing a contrasting picture: the civilian settlement got smaller in the late third century, but it did not disappear.

Conduct site surveys and help process exciting finds.

You will work with other volunteers, taking part in excavation activities, site surveying, sampling, cleaning, planning, mapping, and completing post-excavation work, including processing of finds and wet-sieving of environmental material.

About the research area

South Shields, Tyneside, United Kingdom, Europe & Russia

South Shields is in northern England, within the Tyneside urban area, east of Newcastle on the southern bank of the Tyne. The project site sits on a rise overlooking the North Sea and the river mouth. The town is a mixture of old and new, with Georgian and Victorian buildings side by side with redevelopment of more recent years.

The weather during the summer is typically British: a mixture of warm days, the occasional cool sea breeze, and showers that appear in an instant and disappear just as quickly. The town is the capital of the South Tyneside region, and the local economy is a mixture of small-scale industry and coastal-resort tourism.

The coastline here epitomizes the Great British seaside, with pristine sandy beaches, soaring cliffs, and delightful parks. The local people are famously friendly and welcoming, and you’ll encounter a wide variety of pubs and restaurants to sample and a range of activities, including shopping, live music, and theatre.

Fort Arbeia, South Shields, UK

Daily life in the field

Itinerary

Day 1: Meet the team and travel to accommodations, welcome presentation

Days 2–5: Daily activity includes:

• Excavating

• Mapping dig sites

• Cataloging artifacts

Day 6: Departure for volunteers on six-day teams

Continued schedule for 13-day teams:

Days 7–12: Excavation and other research tasks; you’ll also have the opportunity to visit Hadrian’s Wall and local museums

Day 13: Departure

You'll be an archaeologist from Monday to Friday, and then have some recreational time on the weekends. While working at the Roman fort, you will:

Search for artifacts. You'll help uncover the remnants of the city that grew up around the fort's walls. Armed with the tools of the trade (such as a trowel and a brush), you'll work carefully to uncover any objects you find in the soil, which could include coins and pieces of pottery.

Map excavation sites. Help the archaeologists track and plan their work my drawing and photographing excavation units (the official name for the holes you're digging).

Catalog and sort finds. You’ll make draw finds for the records, clean and sort them, and enter data indoors (a good activity for when rains too much to excavate).

When you’re not at work, the team will visit local museums, take in the view at the seashore, or relax at the accommodations. Those who stay for the full two weeks will get to take a guided tour of Hadrian's wall.

MEET THE OTHER SCIENTISTS

Accommodations and Food

Accommodations and Food

Comfortable guesthouses

Wide range of restaurants

Full English breakfasts

Your team will stay in local guesthouses just a few minutes’ walk from the seafront and town center and a 10-minute walk from your work site. The guesthouses have shared bedrooms, hot showers and bathrooms, with easy access to parks, beaches, pubs, and restaurants. Volunteers on the six-day expedition will find their own accommodations, and can choose from any of South Shields’ many offerings.

Whether you are looking for a snack, a pub meal, or a sit-down five-course meal, you’ll find it in South Shields. Ocean Road is renowned for its array of good restaurants, especially those serving seafood, fish and chips, and Indian food, which offer excellent value for the money. At the excavation site, you'll be fortified by your choice of picnic lunches. You’ll also enjoy full English or continental breakfast and hearty dinners at the guest house.

“Diggin' in the Dirt”

Diggin' in the Dirt! I love digging in the dirt. What will I find? How did it get there? What story does it tell?

A "something different" begins to emerge from the clay that was outside of the southwest corner of the wall. I can see the edge of some pottery, blackish and curved. Broken. Tossed or dropped in the gully beside the road to the vicus. The trowel insistently shaves the hardened clay/dirt surrounding it. It will reveal itself in time.

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Lena Cosentino|Wednesday, August17, 2016

“An Amazing Time in South Shields”

In this expedition, you get a full and total experience of Roman History and Archeological studies. This is probably the most comprehensive experience of the Roman Empire in Britian. You will learn the basics of archeology and an amazing amount about the history of the Roman Empire in Britian.

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Robert McClure|Wednesday, August17, 2016

“First Experience”

A very good first time experience for me and I learned a ton about not only the science, but history as well. A huge additional benefit was meeting so many new and different people doing the same thing.

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Sharon Mathieson|Thursday, August4, 2016

“Loved every minute of the dig”

As a lover of history, I have always wanted to take part in an archaeological excavation in the UK and Earthwatch had the perfect opportunity at Hadrian’s Wall. The dig was amazing - it was cultural, historical, educational and it brought history out of the books I have read to life. Finding Roman pottery, animal bones and animal teeth was extremely rewarding, the site supervisors were very knowledgeable, helpful and always more than willing to share their experiences. We also had lectures and a full day walking excursion along a part of the Wall including a visit to the Roman Fort of Vindolanda. I loved every minute of the dig – getting my hands dirty and re-creating the past from our finds was definitely the highlight for me. Spending time in the trench was strangely meditative and the element of surprise when a piece of pottery or bone showed through was part of the fun and thrill of discovery.

This was my first Earthwatch experience and I am very impressed! Everything from the initial booking online, the directions to the dig and to the accommodation, the thoroughness of the staff regarding everyone’s whereabouts and welfare, the expedition itself and once I was home an email exchange with the lovely Melbourne team has been so easy and effortless and very professional. I will definitely be taking part in another Earthwatch expedition – it is a wonderful organisation to be part of!

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Constance Rodgers|Monday, July11, 2016

“Archeology is serious fun!”

When one in our team found the bronze miniature of Ceres I was moved to tears and shaky. I felt vulnerable and awe struck like I was in ceremony. Seeing and thinking about how the Ancients lived, and that they lived, just overwhelms me, in the best of ways. The phrase, "preserved in research" stuck in my craw. That archeologist can't be so precious with every inch or item was something I never considered. Seeing how the community that Arbeia, Segedendum and Hadrian's Wall are in and how they have embraced their preservation and significance was encouraging and heartwarming.

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Noel Henry|Friday, July 11, 2014

“Arbeia June 2014”

My grandson, Kieren, and I joined the first expedition at the site this summer (2014). The initial briefing was really thorough and provided a clear history of the site and surrounding area. We met the other members of our team, Jacob and John, and the Excavation staff members Jim and Terry. We quickly became a focused and mutually supportive team and although we worked hard we also had great fun and learned a lot about the history and culture of Roman Britain.

We made a number of finds including pottery, tiles and bones. During the week there were many other visitors to the site from local schools and charities and we had the opportunity to talk to them about what we were doing.

During the week we also really enjoyed the evening lecture from a leading historian Dr. Nick Hodgson.

We stayed in a local guest house and the staff there were really lovely, welcoming and helpful and we were offered huge amounts of great, home-cooked food.

I can totally recommend this experience to anyone wanting an active educational holiday.

Noel Henry & Kieren Lyttle

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Jennifer Lauer|Friday, February 07, 2014

“Roman Fort Arbeia”

This was a very nice expedition, but I was glad that it was my first one and not my fourth. It's a good, safe, comfortable expedition to try out Earthwatch or archeology for the first time; there was a lot of learning about Earthwatch, how the projects work, what the expectations and work is like. The work was physical but not overly strenuous, and there were lots of opportunities for breaks if you needed it. It was comfortable in terms of language and location for a lot of people coming over from the US, too. It had been running for several years by the time I joined it, so all of the kinks were out in terms of accommodations and food. We were working in a site that had been excavated several times previously.

Accommodations were clean, safe, and comfortable: rooming houses and B&Bs. Food was somewhat dependent on which rooming house you were in: the house I was in had a wide variety of excellent food, but I heard from other team members that their houses didn't have such extensive choices. They were fed well, but at least some other team members were jealous of the interesting local snacks our rooming house provided us with.

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